Golden State Killer charged in four more murders

Suspected Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo was charged with four more murders Thursday, bringing the total to 12. File Photo courtesy of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office

May 10 (UPI) -- Santa Barbara County, Calif., prosecutors announced Thursday they charged the so-called Golden State Killer with four more murders.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was charged with killing Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez in July 1981, and orthopedic surgeon Robert Offerman and psychologist Alexandria Manning in December 1979, the first of his killings reported in Santa Barbara County.

"Violent cold cases never grow cold for the victims or their loved ones," Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley said.

Each of the four new first-degree murder charges carries a possible sentence of death or life in prison without parole

DeAngelo was arrested by Sacramento County sheriff's officials at his home on April 24, in connection with a number of deaths and rapes linked to a single perpetrator active between 1976 and 1986. He was previously charged with four killings in Orange County, two in Ventura County and two in Sacramento County.

With the four new charges, DeAngelo has been accused in all 12 known Golden State Killer murders.

Investigators said the Golden State Killer found Offerman and Manning in bed before tying them up and shooting them.